November 09, 2008	Sunday	Ziqa'ad 10, 1429

LONDON, Nov 8: The way Britain’s political parties are organised, particularly the Labour Party, means a Barack Obama would never have been elected in Britain, the head of the country’s equality watchdog says.

Trevor Phillips, head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission and one of Britain’s most prominent black campaigners, told The Times newspaper he believed Britain was less racially divided than the United States.

“Here, the problem is not the electorate, the problem is the machine,” he said in an interview published on Saturday.

“The parties and the unions and the think-tanks are all very happy to sign up to the general idea of advancing the cause of minorities but in practice they would like somebody else to do the business. It’s institutional racism.”

Phillips said he doubted whether someone like Obama would have been able to make it to Downing Street as a member of the Labour Party and said the opposition Conservatives had done more to promote black and Asian politicians.

“If Barack Obama had lived here I would be very surprised if even somebody as brilliant as him would have been able to break through the institutional stranglehold on power within the Labour Party.”

Of the Conservatives he said: “They are less democratic. They are happier to impose candidates on the local parties.”

Philips said rather than having all-black shortlists it would be better for parties to introduce a special fund to help potential ethnic minority candidates to find a seat.

Obama had the potential to be a global role model, he added, but said people needed to moderate their expectations.

“This guy walks on water, he is a miracle, he does things none of us thought could be done in politics — but don’t expect him to end war and racial discrimination, give everyone a home and engender love and peace by Christmas.”—Reuters